Canon PIXMA iP6600D Photo Printer

Canon PIXMA iP6600D Photo Printer – Product Description:

The PIXMA iP6600D Photo Printer is a photo-printing powerhouse, with incredible quality and high end convenience. It delivers an amazing resolution of up to 9,600 x 2,400 dpi, for detail and clarity that will surpass your expectations. To achieve this, Canon Full-photolitho-graphy Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) uses a next-generation 3,072-nozzle print head that ejects precise, consistent droplets as small as one picoliter. Plus, we’ve added high intensity photo cyan and photo magenta to the conventional four inks, to increase the accuracy of color values.

The high performance doesn’t stop there. The PIXMA iP6600D Photo Printer can produce a beautiful photo lab quality 4″ x 6″ borderless print in approximately 46 seconds. Plus, its advanced paper handling provides you with several smart printing options. The dual paper path allows you to keep two different paper types always loaded and ready to print. You can even create two-sided photos or special photo albums with select Canon media.

With the extra-large 3.5″ LCD color viewer and control panel, you can evaluate and enhance the images on your compatible memory card before printing! For viewing, just insert the card into one of the built-in card slots and select the images. As needed, the PIXMA iP6600D Photo Printer will automatically correct for red eye, improve sharpness and enhance the light values on your subjects’ faces. Or, you can fine tune the image yourself using the easy control panel. Then, print directly from the memory card! You can also print directly from a PictBridge compatible digital camera or DV camcorder.

The Canon ChromaLife100 system combines the PIXMA iP6600D Photo Printer’s FINE print head technology and newly developed inks with select Canon photo papers, with results rivaling that of many conventional photos. And with the new smart LED ink tanks, your LED lamp flashes when ink is running low, and flashes even faster when nearing empty.

Canon PIXMA iP6600D Photo Printer – Review:

EXCELLENT PHOTO PRINTING, DECENT TEXT!

I bought this printer a few months back as a replacement for my Canon i860 that has been a workhorse. I was attracted by the direct printing from memory cards, as well as the additional photo color cartridges for better prints. I had been eyeballing this printer from the time it was released to retailers.

I have rather mixed feelings about this printer, but I think the easiest way to describe it is by listing the positives and negatives.

Positive:

1. Outstanding photo printing. I thought my i860 printed great photos (it does-even with generic inks), but the iP6600D is a step better. I too have used processors to print some photos before, and when using Canon Photo Paper Pro Glossy paper, this printer is every bit as good as those processed prints. In fact, I have had people ask both if the photos were film and professionally printed.

2. Two paper loading options – the back primary for standard paper, the drawer for photo paper. This can be set up in the driver to auto-select based on the type of printing job (*but…seee negatives). It is convenient to not have to manually swap paper or turn a switch to change paper.

5. Seperate ink tanks – economy of replacing only those inks that are needed – not an entier combo tank.*

6. Lots of features not found in many other printers in the same price class.

7. Fast printing.

Negatives:

1. Inks are relatively expensive for individual colors (compared to my i860). For Canon inks, they run around $17 each (with 6 tanks….ouch). Thus far, there are no 3rd party ink cartridges that are compatible with this printer. My i860 printed photos very close to the same quality using cheap inks as the Canon inks.

2. The Memory Card reader – the box advertises that it is xD compatible – but in reality, the printer requires an adaptor for xD to function in this printer – and Canon doesn’t even market or sell such an adaptor (have found elsewhere – for $30+). Wording on marketing material should be clarified in this regard. Borders on false advertising.

3. Large footprint – this printer takes up a lot of room – several square inches more than my i860.

4. Driver can be a bit tempermental in regards to the paper source. It is suppose to (when properly set up) automatically select the appropriate paper source – photo paper in tray or standard paper in regular paper feed. The driver often does not make the right selection – pulling regular 8.5X11 paper when printing 4X6 photos. Thus wasting ink and causing an inconvenience. I am hoping future releases of the driver will fix this bug.

5. Text printing – the text printing of this printer is not quite as clean and sharp as my Canon i860 (or many other printers for that matter). I guess this to be because of the use of only one black cartrige for both photos and text. The i860 has two black cartridges – one specifically for text, the other for photos –

Overall, thsi printer has potential to be a great printer – particularly for photos. It’s text printing ability and relative high cost of inks are the traits that have encouraged me to keep my Canon i860 going. IF Canon can get the driver working correctly and inks come down a bit in price, I will use this printer a lot more.